COLORADO SPRINGS/PUEBLO, Colo. – With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Western New Mexico University women's basketball team is right in the thick of the race for a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
Two more road games await the Lady Mustangs as they will play at UC-Colorado Springs and Colorado State University-Pueblo.
First on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. WNMU will battle the top team in the RMAC in the Lady Mountain Lions. UCCS, ranked in last week's media poll, is currently receiving votes in this week's WBCA Poll. They had an eight-game winning streak snapped this past Saturday when they fell at Chadron State, 72-70. They hold a 7-1 mark at home with their lone loss against Regis.
The Lady Mountain Lions are 16-3 overall and 11-2 in the RMAC and have been powered by one of the top duos in the conference in Abby Kirchoff and Brittany Hernandez, as they are first and second in scoring in the conference. Kirchoff leads the team in points per game (21) and three-pointers (54). Hernandez is nearly averaging a double-double with 19.1 points and 9.7 rebounds. She leads the team in blocks (43) and steals (40), in addition to rebounds. They score 77.7 per game, while allowing 67.7. They shoot 43.8 percent from the field and allow a 39.4 percent from opposing teams. They lead the RMAC in seven statistical categories including, blocked shots per game (4.2), field goal percentage, offensive rebounds per game (14), scoring margin (10.1), scoring offense, three-point field goal percentage (36) and win-loss percentage (84.2).
In the previous meeting in Silver City WNMU held an early second half lead before UCCS came back for the 74-63 victory.
The next night on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. WNMU will take on the Lady ThunderWolves. CSU-Pueblo is currently 10-7 overall and 8-5 in the RMAC having won their last two games at Chadron State and Black Hills State. Prior to those two wins they had lost five of their last six.
Ashley Piper, Katie Nehf and Dee Arrieta all average in double-figures led by 12.9 from Piper. Nehf adds 11.6 and Arrieta with 10.4. Nehf leads in rebounds at 7.8 per night. CSU-Pueblo averages 62.6 points per game and allows 57.7. They make 37.6 percent from the field, while opponents connect on 38.3.
In the earlier meeting in Silver City, the Lady Mustangs erased an eight-point second half deficit and led by as many as six with three minutes to play when CSU-Pueblo closed the game on a 14-0 run to come away with the 63-55 victory.
WNMU has won four straight and with 10 wins on the season is just one win short of last season's total of 11, which was also the most wins for the program since an 11-15 campaign in 2002-03. The most wins prior to that was a 13-13 season in 1997-98 and the last winning season came in 1996-97 when WNMU went 19-7.
Three of the four wins came against conference opponents (Black Hills State, Chadron State and New Mexico Highlands) and a non-conference win against Northern New Mexico. The Lady Mustangs are 7-6 in the conference and 10-7 overall, which has them in a three-way tie with Regis and Fort Lewis for seventh in the RMAC standings. They sit just one game back of MSU Denver, Black Hills State, CSU-Pueblo and Colorado Christian for third.
Ashley Mitchell (Fort Defiance, AZ/Window Rock High School), the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, continues to lead the team in points per game at 13.6. Three other Lady Mustangs are averaging near nine points a game including
RaTanya Newsome (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) (9.8),
Stephanie Moore (Anton, TX/Anton High School) (9.3) and
Jade Botelho (Honolulu, HI/Iolani High School) (8.9). Newsome leads in assists (104) and steals (41).
Nalani Hernandez (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) pulls down 7.3 rebounds per game to lead the team and is also tied with Botelho for the lead in blocks with six.
WNMU averages 65.8 points per game and has the second stingiest defense in the conference behind CSU-Pueblo giving up just 58.1 per game. WNMU hits just below 40 percent from the field (39.9) per game, while holding opponents to a 37.2 clip, good for fifth in the RMAC.
The Lady Mustangs remain the national leader in three-point defense holding teams to a 21.9 percentage. WNMU is also high in several other NCAA categories including 24
th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.09) which also leads the RMAC, 27
th in scoring defense, 47
th in steals per game at 10.2, good for third in the RMAC, and 20
th in both turnover margin (4.88), good for second in the RMAC and in turnovers per game (13.8), which leads the RMAC.
Newsome remains in the top-10 in terms of assists per game in eighth at 6.1 per contest and remains the leader in the RMAC. She is 51
st in the NCAA in steals per game (2.41) and is fourth in the RMAC. She is sixth in the RMAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44) and eighth in the RMAC in minutes per game (32.3).
In terms of other players ranking high in RMAC categories include Mitchell now eighth in scoring per game and Hernandez seventh in rebounds.
Live video and stats will be available for both games.
